The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to an interactive channel and a system and method for providing such a channel.
Radio receivers (RRs) are present at home, work, portable use, cars. RRs deliver music, news, radio programs on a variety of topics. They are easy to operate and present an almost standard interface in terms of user-controlled functionality [ranging from channel control, volume control, sound quality controls, mute button (sometimes coupled to a phone) and more].
Some RRs are based on broadcast (FM, AM (MW, LW, SW), DAB, HD, Satellite Radio etc.). Some are satellite based. Some are Internet based.
RRs are based on the idea of a channel that presents sound content that is continuously broadcast over the channel. The channel is physically realized as either broadcast on the airways via antennas, broadcast from a satellite, via Cable, Internet content that is generated on behalf of the channel and other known means. RRs may contain commercial portions or segments such as advertisements, public announcements, emergency notifications, health alerts and other segments that are not considered as ordinary channel content such as music, talk shows, and other radio programs.
Broadcast is typically one-to-many, so that changes in the channel would be applied to all of the viewers or listeners. On one-to-one systems it is possible to have interactive channels such as that shown in FIG. 1. Well known in telephony, an interactive system, typically hosted on a server 10 asks a user via an audio channel to select a key—speech bubble 12—and the key is used to select further flow of the channel via a communication device 14. The audio flow is changed at the server 10 in response to the user interaction. In a one-to many cases, such operation is impossible as all users would receive the program flow based on a single user's interaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,628,928 provides for multiple mobile units, each including a receiver for receiving radio broadcasts, a GPS system for determining the location of the vehicle, and a wireless transmitter for transmitting interactive radio control signals to a network operation center. While listening to a radio broadcast, the subscriber selects program segments of interest by pressing an interactive radio control button on the mobile unit. The program segments are, for example, individual musical selections, advertisements or the like. In response, the mobile unit transmits the carrier frequency of the radio broadcast, the date and time, the geographical location of the vehicle, and a subscriber identification signal to the network operation center using the wireless transmitter.
The network operations center determines the identity of the selected program segment based upon the information transmitted from the mobile unit. Then, the network operation center accesses databases providing information pertaining to the selected program segment and provides the information to the subscriber via the Internet, such that the information can later be retrieved by the subscriber using a home or office computer or the like. By providing feedback via the Internet, the subscriber need not make decisions immediately regarding purchase of goods or services while listening to a radio broadcast. Moreover, a vast amount of information may be provided to the subscriber facilitating the purchase of goods or services or the like.
International Patent Application Publication No. WO2001001331 discloses a technology that embeds identifiers in an audio segment (e.g. radio broadcast) and performs certain actions in response to a user reacting to that identifier.
If a user hears a song they want to record and keep, they press the Capture button while the song is playing. In response, the radio device decodes a watermark embedded in the music, and thereby knows the identity of the music. The radio then makes a wireless transmission identifying the user and the desired song. A local repeater network picks up the wireless signal and relays it (e.g., by wireless rebroadcast, by modem, or other communication medium) to a music clearinghouse. The clearinghouse charges the user a nominal fee (e.g., via a pre-arranged credit card), and queues the music for download to a predetermined location associated with the user.
The instruction may be entered by voice, GUI, etc., and dispatched from the appliance to the clearinghouse, which can then complete the transaction in accordance with pre-stored information (e.g., credit card account number, mailing address, etc.).
U.S. Pat. No. 8,160,930 discloses, in one example, a user in a vehicle listening to music, who wishes to request more information about the music, or wishes to purchase a CD of the playing music. In the example, the song “Candy” is playing on the radio. The display on a telematic control unit shows “Candy Everybody . . . ” after related information is received from main system via the network and the gateway. The user can request more information, by either pressing a button or uttering a keyword or phrase. For example, the user says “song information”. The microphone receives these words, after which telematic control unit digitizes the received words and delivers them to the main system for voice processing. Alternatively, the content may have already been downloaded and is simply played to the user. The telematic control unit either responds aurally and/or displays some relevant textual information that is received from the main system. The user can further request to purchase say a CD by either pressing a button or uttering a keyword. Once the user says “Purchase”, the telematic control unit sends a request to the server via the network. The server processes the request to purchase the CD by contacting the CD production company using the user's financial service company to complete the transaction. The telematic control unit verbally responds or displays a confirmation, for example: “Your confirmation code is CM1234. The CD will be sent to your address on file”.
In another example in the same patent, a user listens to an advertisement for a sandwich restaurant, the user can purchase a sub from the sandwich restaurant by either pressing a button or uttering a keyword, for example: “Buy jumbo club”. The request is sent to the server via the Internet, and a telematic control unit responds or displays: “The nearest subway location is about 0.7 miles off exit 167 and has a drive-through. Would you like to buy your club sandwich at that location for $1.99?” The user can then purchase the sandwich, by either pressing a button or uttering “Purchase”. Once the user selects to purchase the sandwich, a request is sent to the server via the network, which processes the request and returns an order number. The telematic control unit displays or responds: “Your order number is 57”.
Broadcast radio stations, such as FM radio stations, may use a system known as a Radio Data System (RDS) or Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS in US), both referred to herein as “RDS,” to transmit supplemental information corresponding to their normal radio programming, e.g., music, talk, news, etc. In particular, RDS is intended for application to FM sound broadcasts between 87.5 MHz to 108.0 MHz. For stereophonic broadcast, the RDS subcarrier is locked to third harmonic of the 19 KHz pilot tone with overall tolerance of ±6 Hz. For monophonic broadcast, the RDS subcarrier is 57 KHz±6 Hz. The data message rate is constrained to 1.1875 Kbits/sec as defined in standards for RBDS (i.e., NRSC-4-A, National Radio Systems Committee (NRSC) jointly sponsored by Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)) and for RDS (i.e., IEC/CENELEC EN:62106:2001, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC)).
Broadcast radio stations transmit their programming and the supplemental information in the RDS format as distinct signals multiplexed onto a single carrier. Radio receivers having RDS decoders, such as those included with some wireless communications devices or those in a vehicle, permit a user to listen to the transmitted programming and view the corresponding supplemental information on a display. Specifically, generally-known RDS improves functionality for FM receivers by providing basic RDS information such as Program Identification, Program Service, and Automatic tuning as well as Open Data Application (ODA) for such services as traffic message channel, emergency warning systems, radio text, and enhanced radio paging, etc.
Attempts have been made to extend RDS beyond providing a standard protocol for several types of supplemental information transmitted by the broadcast radio stations, such as the identity of the particular radio station, the type of programming, and text information such as the name of an artist and/or song. For example, some specifications provide additional messages that can control portions of the supplemental information, such as the display of the radio text information. In another example, some services have been developed to provide content to the receiver using a data connection, where the content is synchronized with the radio programming via the data message.